Wabakimi Provincial Park is a

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

park located to the northwest of

Lake Nipigon Lake Nipigon (; french: lac Nipigon; oj, Animbiigoo-zaaga'igan) is part of the Great Lakes drainage basin. It is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of the Canadian province of Ontario. Etymology In the Jesuit Relations the lake is ...

and northwest of

Armstrong Station Armstrong railway station is located in the town of Armstrong, Ontario, Canada. This station is currently in use by Via Rail. Transcontinental ''Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. Thi ...

in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The park contains a vast and interconnected network of more than 2,000 kilometres of lakes and rivers. The park covers an area of and became the second largest park in Ontario (after

Polar Bear Provincial Park Polar Bear Provincial Park is an isolated wilderness park in the far north of Ontario, Canada. It lies on the western shore where James Bay joins Hudson Bay. The terrain is part of the Hudson Bay Lowlands and features unspoiled low-lying tundra i ...

) and one of the world's largest

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

reserves following a major expansion in 1997 (it was expanded almost sixfold that year). A number of local citizen groups and residents, including

Bruce Hyer Bruce Tolhurst Hyer (born August 6, 1946) is a Canadian politician, businessman, and ecologist. He is the former deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada and the former Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay—Superior North. Hyer was elected ...

(former MP for Thunder Bay-Superior North) have been instrumental in the creation, expansion, and preservation of this region. Armstrong Station has access points to this remote park by Caribou Lake Road, Little Caribou Lake, canoe, float plane, or rail. The main line of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

skirts the south end of the park and

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

provides passenger service twice a week. Paddlers (mostly canoeing) often travel the

Allan Water The Allan Water ( gd, Uisge Alain) is a river in central Scotland. Rising in the Ochil Hills, it runs through Strathallan to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. It is liable to cause floods in lower Bridge of Allan. ...

, Flindt, Pikitigushi, and

Ogoki River The Ogoki River is a river in the Thunder Bay and Cochrane Districts of Ontario. It springs from the wilderness just east of Savant Lake, flowing north of Lake Nipigon to Ogoki, where it joins the Albany River which empties into James Bay. The ...

(along with a number of additional extended waterways) during the summer months. Wabakimi Provincial Park's waterways straddle a height-of-land from which water flows either to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

via

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

or to the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

via the

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

basins. Several provincial waterway parks connect to Wabakimi: * Ogoki River Provincial Park, to the east * Albany River Provincial Park, to the north * Kopka River Provincial Park, to the south * Brightsand River Provincial Park, to the southwest Many camps and outfitters use Wabakimi including Keewaydin Canoe Camp.

Wabakimi Project and Friends of Wabakimi

The Wabakimi Project (2004-2018) was a not-for-profit effort to rediscover and explore the lost and/or abandoned canoe routes that lie within Wabakimi Provincial Park and on adjacent Crown lands. The Friends of Wabakimi is an Ontario non-profit that advocates for canoe routes and protection of the greater Wabakimi area.

References

External links

*
Explore the Boreal Forests of Wabakimi Provincial Park
{{Authority control Provincial parks of Ontario Parks in Thunder Bay District Protected areas established in 1983 1983 establishments in Ontario